711
by dls
Summary: Sirius proposes - over and over and over again. Rated M to be safe.


"Severus, do you have a minute?" I poke my head in his workroom.

"Make it quick," he barks out, holding up a vial which contains a yellow liquid. He swirls it couple of times and sits down at his desk to record down the observation. "I'm waiting." Impatience oozes from his voice.

"Marry me."

"No," he answers without hesitation; his eyes remain on the notebook.

Instead of letting his response get to me, I lean on the doorframe and watch him while he works. Elegant, pale fingers dicing up the ingredients with preciseness and onyx eyes focusing on the task create an air of confidence and concentration around him.

Watching Severus brew a potion is like admiring a piece of timeless art, like Mona Lisa.

"Why are you still here?"

Despite the malice in his voice, I know he's getting uncomfortable with my gaze on his back. I have enough experience to know exactly what effects I have on him; it's a glorious feeling to know that I can crack his steely resolve with my eyes.

"Do you know that was the 710th time I've proposed to you?"

This time, he turns and raises a quizzical brow, disbelief written clearly on his face. "I'm surprised you can count up that high."

I ignore the comment about my math skills, knowing that it's a tactic to pull me off topic. "I'm serious. Remember when we first moved in together and we had that celebration dinner? That's when I first proposed to you. And you answered exactly the same way you did a few minutes ago."

He shakes his head in a manner as one would to a child. "I need to get back to work."

"Out of the 710 times I proposed you answered ﾑNo' 213 times, ﾑI'm busy' 149 times, snapped at me 106 times, glared at me 145 times, and 97 times you didn't say anything."

"Stop playing. This potion needs to be finished tomorrow." He rubs his temples and frowns. I'm not sure if I had caused his headache or if it is the stress of the deadline. I blame the latter.

"I have proof." I pull out a small notebook from my pocket. "I wrote down all the times I proposed to you. See?" I walk toward him, holding the notebook open for him to see.

He surprises me when he throws a glance at the notebook and snatches it out of my grip. "Let me see that."

"It doesn't include the days Albus forced us to spend in Bora Bora." I have learned to appreciate the way Albus's mind works.

He snorts, but I continue.

"Remember? Almost all of our conversation was ﾑMarry me' and ﾑNo'. If you count those, the number would be well over a thousand."

He grumbles something that sounded suspiciously like ﾑidiot' under his breath as he scans the pages.

I know my handwriting is bad, but I tried to make it neat. It reminds me how much I love Severus, and that all the humiliating rejection is worth it.

The tension in his face softens as he reads on and a hint of a smile touches his lips.

"I love you, Severus Snape." I circle my arms around his slim waist, enjoying the contact. He has been locked up in his lab for the past three days developing a potion to cure blindness. Although he insists he's only doing it out of boredom, I know better. My Severus is a softie. "Will you marry me?"

"Isn't it your birthday tomorrow?" He asks and stuffs the notebook back in my pocket.

Somewhat annoyed that he's trying to change the topic, I answer him. It's rare that Severus remembers the important dates. "Yes, it is."

He's silent, but his action speaks louder than words as he lays his hands over mine.

"I will love you, for as long as I breathe." I exhale against his ear. "Can't you feel it?"

He turns to face me, still in my arms. The smirk on his face unnerves me slightly. "As long as you breathe, you'll love me?"

I nod, confused by his question.

"What do you think I'll say this time, yes or no?"

His eyes hold a gleam of something I can't interpret and it's making me nervous. I hate moments like this where I can't figure out what he's thinking.

"I'm hoping you'll say yes," I glance at the notebook in his hand.

"Hmm." He looks thoughtful. That's never good.

All thoughts escape me when he suddenly smiles. Not a sneer, like when he hands out detention, or a smirk, like when he's planning something unpleasant, but a genuine, happy smile. I've only seen that smile once, when he agreed to move in with me.

"Yes, let's get married." He whispers.

Yes! Finally! We are getting married! Waitﾅgetting married? Severus just agreed to marry me?

I'm pretty sure that I look like an idiot, nodding enthusiastically with my mouth hanging open, but I can't help it.

He is looking at me. I should probably say something. Damn it! I can't find my voice!

The smile on his face widens, and his lips move. Bloody hell! My ears won't work. I need to hear what he is saying! Thank Merlin that my eyes are still functional. I concentrate on his lips, trying to decipher the message.

It looks like he's saying, "Idiot."

It isn't till later that I regain my ability to speak.

"Why did you say yes?"

"I like the number 711."

He smirks and I'm speechless once again.


End file.
